Shelly beach, yesterday

 
The Yankees are here. I have turned them into shopping monsters. Never did I think I’d visit all my favourite secret shopping haunts in ONE DAY, but they were so excited by their purchases that they just wanted to keep going.

I am pooped. I think I’ll have a nap before making some popcorn to watch the Oscars. Zzzzzzz.

Oh, the hotties are going to be in two (!) magazines, and the envelopes will be in a newspaper next month. Craft. Mania. Starts. Now.

my latest hand-stitched handiwork (teddy not included)

 
The four cutest hot water bottles in the world go on sale today, at Meet Me at Mike’s in Richmond. One big hottie (pictured) and three littlies.

I like them so much I did not want to hand them over. So I photographed my favourite instead.

It’s not exactly hot water bottle weather here, but I’m thinking to the future. There are at least six more in the works, including some with dots and some with monkeys.

And I will try to get one or two up on the innerweb in the next few weeks for you poor freezing folks in the northern hemisphere.

UPDATE: less than 24 hours after I visited Mike’s, and through no promotion on my part, the big hottie is featured in Michi Girl’s daily forecast!

the bouquet toss (the middle lass in blue and white caught it)

 
I love this photograph. It was taken during the longest wedding celebration I have ever attended. If only you could have heard the noise these ladies made while scrambling for the bouquet. Near-deafening, I tell you.

It started with Friday night drinks + dinner at the pub, followed by a morning chapel ceremony, lunchtime reception and post-reception reception (where this photo was taken). 11 1/2 hours of wedding-ing in one day (in high heels), only to be followed by a barbecue today, which I missed. zzzzzzzzzz. By the end of last night, I just wanted to sit on the couch in my jammies and watch TV.

The bride was lovely and the food was lovely and everything was lovely. An excess of loveliness. And I only got sad when the bride choked up while talking about how important her family is, even though they live far away. Which I completely understand.

It’s funny how weddings bring up more wedding discussion among the attendees. Two of the couples we knew there were engaged, and Sparky and I will most likely attend their weddings. Others really really wanted to get married (see photo). And I got all sorts of fun questions like:

Q. Why didn’t you try to catch the bouquet?
A. Not interested, thanks. (Towards the end of the night, Sparky quickly answered with “Honey’s already been married” like it was boring old news.)

Q. Are you and Sparky going to get married and have kids?
A. Um, dunno, but I love him lots and he makes me laugh.

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I’m extremely excited because Chrissy, an old housemate from Missouri and fellow professional napper, is coming to visit in two weeks. She’s my first non-wedding-related overseas visitor, so I’m pretty happy. She’s only here from 23 Feb through 1 March before heading off to Sydney, so if anyone has any suggestions for activities/destinations/etc. during that time, please leave a comment.

Australia vs New Zealand at the MCG

 
I attended my first cricket match on Sunday, which lasted many, many, many hours. It was fun, I learned a lot, and I even finished knitting a scarf. That’s one more for the basket I’ll be taking to the shop next week.

The people in the stands are forming the Mexican wave, illegally (ha!), but you can’t tell because they’re so teeny in the photo.

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I think I’ve become obsessed with attics. First it was the house we inspected on Rae Street last year, which had a magic nap attic. Now it’s this house, with it’s fully dedicated attic bedroom, with walk-in closet.

I never even made it to the inspection for this one, but I can’t stop thinking about it. Mmmmm … attic-y.